Businessweek Archives

What Does Web-Based Computing Mean for PC Design? Is it the death of the laptop?

With all the talk about the rise of web-based computing ?applications such as Google Documents, etc. — what does this mean for PC design?

Will product designers and engineers start focusing more on hand-held devices that are somewhere between mobile phones and laptops (in size and capabilities) that are already starting to hit the market?

Or will they focus mostly on the mobile phone?

Then again, with the emergence of slicker, sleeker desktops from Apple, Gateway, and Dell, is there a trend toward ever-sexier PCs that we will use in set environments to supplement the computing we do on our mobile devices, and then tap into our documents and files via the Web?